Pile fabric and method of making the same



M. G. CUR-ns 1,989,441

PILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME t Jan 29, 1935.

Filed Jan. 6, 1931 Patented Jan. 29, 1935 UNITED STATES` PATENT OFFICE PILE FABRIC AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAlliE Application January 6, 1931, Serial No. 506,898

5 Claims.

5 from the separation into individual fibres or strands of twisted pile yarns containing animal fibres which are securely anchored in abacking fabric by a water insoluble flexible coating solidied thereon. The backing is woven concurrently with the looping of undyed pile over the picks thereof and is preferably woven of predyed yarn and so loose as to be incapable, without the coating, of holding the pile against pushing or pulling out during pile dyeing which both colors and untwists the bres or strands of the pile tufts..

When pile yarns containing resilient animal libres, such as mohair, are cut into short sections before treatment of the yarn to set the twist or curl therein, the elasticity or resiliency of the animal libres tends to cause them to untwist or straighten out and separate into individual filaments, fibres or strands, particularly where the yarns have been twisted from a plurality of fine plys. When the cut ends of such yarns are massed together, the untwistingor disintegration thereof forms a dense surface of fine filaments or strands, and affords a type of coverage highly desirablein pile fabrics for certain uses, such -as automobile upholstery. By weaving relatively loosely the grounds or backing fabrics of a double plush fabric so that the bends or loops of the pile warps are not tightly gripped or constricted by the backing, the tendency of the animal bres of the pile to untwist and separate when cut is substantially unimpeded. Such tendency is, moreover, accelerated and accentuated by the coating operations necessary to secure the pile to the backing and particularly by the subsequent immersion and agitation of the coated fabric in the pile dye bath. The coating of the fabric before dyeing is necessary not only to avoid evacuation of the loosely held pile but to avoid the shrinkage, lateral contraction, curling and creasing of the fabric which occurs when a loosely woven pile fabric is subjected to dyeing operations. When, as is usual, a colored back or ground is desired, predyed ground yarns must be used and the coating which is applied to and permeates the back and the bases of the pile loops prevents bleeding of dye from the ground yarn into the pile dyebath or pile during dyeing of the pile,

and excludes the pile dye from the ground fibres.

'I'he characteristic features and advantages of my improvements will further appear from the following description and the accompanying drawing in illustration thereof.

In the drawing, Fig. l is a photo-micrographic edge view of a fabric embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an exaggerated perspective view of a small section of such fabric; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a preferred form of weave used in the practice of my invention; and Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of a fabric resulting from splitting the double fabric of Fig. 3.

As illustrated in the drawing, a double back pile fabric may be woven with its upper ground y A-containing pairs of upper ground warps l, 1' and 2, 2', and picks or wefts 3, 3' and with its 'bottom ground B containing pairs of bottom ground warps 4,' 4', and 5, 5', and picks or wefts 6, 6. The ground warps and wefts preferably consist of predyed vegetable fibre yarns. The two grounds are connected by pile warps 7, 1' in their natural condition and each consisting, of yarn twisted from a plurality of plys and containing resilient slippery animal fibre; which, not 4having been subjected to treatment to set the twist or curl, untwists when cut so .that each tuft 25 opens up to a brush-like formation, which intermingles with the filaments of adjoining untwisted pile-Vs. Each pilewarp '7 is looped `alternately over a pick 3 of the top ground, where kit is positioned between the ground warps l, 1', and under a pick 6 of the bottom ground, where itis positioned between the ground warps 4, 4'; the pairs of ground warps in each instance weaving oppositely to the pile warp, In the next dent of the fabric, the pile warp 'I' is looped al'- 35 ternately over `a. pick 3 of the top ground, where itis positioned between the ground warps 2, 2', and under a pick 6 of the bottom ground, where it is positioned between the ground warps 5, 5'; the pairs of ground warps in each instance weaving oppositely to the pile warp.

The double plush fabric is split apart by cutting the pile warps between grounds, preferably while still on the loom, and as the grounds are woven relatively loose and without stuffer or cover warps, the pile warps are not tightly held or constricted thereby, hence, when cut to form V-pile loops, the pile tufts tend to untwist into separate filaments or strands and are easily pushed or pulled out of the fabric due to the resiliency .and slipperiness of the animal flbre yarns.

Each fabric is then coated on the back with rubber (preferably in the form of an aqueous rubber dispersion) pyroxylin, or other liquid which is solidiable into a water insoluble, flexible, dye resistant film 8 which firmly anchors to the, backing the filaments or strands of pile, which are further untwisted and straightened by the coating operations.

When the coating has solidified, the pile is dyed, preferably by immersion and agitation in a dye kettle, and finished, by which operations filaments of animal fibre are further untwisted and separated and diiused so that each pile forms a fluffy tuft so intermingled with filaments of adjacent pile as to provide soft, diffused and dense coverage of filaments, uncontaminated by dye bleeding from the predyed backing yarns.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. A pile fabric comprising a ground and pile-Vs formed of yarn containing a resilient animal bre untwisted into uncurled dispersed filaments, said ground being too loosely woven to prevent the untwisting of said pile yarn filaments or securely hold the pile-vs, and a water insoluble coating permeating said ground and securing said pile-Vs thereto.

2. A pile fabric comprising a ground of predyed vegetable fibre, pile-Vs each looped over a single pick of said ground and containing resilient animal fibre, said pile yarn being untwisted into uncurled dispersed filaments, and a coating forming a water insoluble flexible film securing said filaments to said ground, said filaments containing dye excluded from said ground fibre by said coating.

3. A pile fabric comprising a ground of predyed yarn containing vegetable fibre and pile-Vs each looped over a pick of said ground and containing resilient animal fibre, each of said pile-Vs being untwisted into dispersed filaments intermingled with dispersed filaments of adjoining untwisted pile-Vs, said ground being too loosely woven to prevent the untwisting 'of said pile filaments or securely hold the same, and a coating forming a flexible water insoluble film securing said filaments to said ground.

4. A pile fabric comprising a ground having pile-Vs each looped over a single pick of said ground, each of said pile-Vs comprising multiply yarn containing resilient animal fibre untwisted into its constituent strands, and a coating forming a flexible water insoluble film securing said pile-Vs to said ground.

5. The method of making pile fabric which consists in concurrently weaving a ground of pre--` dyed vegetable yarn and pile warps forming when cut pile-Vs each looped over a single pick of said ground, said'pile warp containing resilient animal fibre `tending to untwist upon the v MELVILLE G. CURTIS. 

